The House will deliver its article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, kicking off preparations for the upcoming trial.
House impeachment managers will hold a procession ceremony through National Statuary Hall and the Capitol Rotunda to the Senate on Monday evening to present the article of impeachment to the secretary of the Senate.
Earlier this month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., named nine Democratic impeachment managers for the trial, with Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., leading the group. The other eight Democrats include Reps. Diana DeGette of Colorado, Joe Neguse of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Eric Swalwell of California, Ted Lieu of California, Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Madeleine Dean of Pennslyvania.
After presenting the article, which Raskin will read out loud, the managers will exit the Senate chamber.
The House impeached Trump on Jan. 13 for a second time, charging him with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in the deadly Capitol riots earlier this month. The Democratic-controlled House approved the article with a 232-197 vote, with 10 Republicans siding against Trump. It was the most bipartisan vote on a presidential impeachment in history, doubling the five Democrats who voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998.
The presentation of the article will require the Senate to begin the process of holding a trial to determine whether to convict Trump and potentially bar him from ever running for any federal office again.
None of the impeachment managers for this trial argued the case in Trump’s first impeachment trial when the Senate acquitted Trump for obstruction of justice and abuse of power.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the president pro tempore of the Democrat-controlled Senate, will preside over trial since Trump is a former president.
“When I preside over the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, I will not waver from my constitutional and sworn obligations to administer the trial with fairness, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws,” he said in a statement.
The Senate trial for Trump is expected to begin the week of Feb. 8 under a deal struck between both parties. Senate Republicans had requested more time to allow Trump’s lawyers to prepare. The impeachment managers, members of the House who act as trial lawyers, will be sworn in on Tuesday.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
